Coconut Curry Tofu Recipe

I haven't cooked any tofu dishes for my husband Lulu in a while and I thought it would be good to vary his diet. So I prepared tofu with fresh wood ear mushrooms, sweet potatoes, carrots and red bell peppers that I stir-fried in coconut, galangal and turmeric curry sauce.

I topped the tofu dish with a few roasted peanuts to create a contrast in texture and make the dish more fun. 

Pinapple Coconut Muffin Recipe

The main reason I baked these muffins is that I had leftover crushed pineapple from our recent Vietnamese beef fondue party. The more romantic reason I tell my husband Lulu is that I'm always thinking about him and I want to please him all the time. Given his sweet tooth, Lulu always enjoys a hot cup of fruity white tea and a few sweet treats, so I think he'll fall for it .

The muffins are flavored with pineapple, coconut and lemon chocolate chips.

Peanut Chicken Satay Recipe

Peanut sauce is always well appreciated. It's tasty, very easy to make and can be served with many different ingredients. Chicken Satay is a classic, and for this recipe I marinated the chicken and prepared the components of the dish in advance for a truly easy meal. The peanut sauce was made from scratch with peanuts that I blended until smooth and creamy, coconut milk, galangal, limes and fresh lemongrass.

For more texture, I added fried jiacama and fried tofu to the chicken breasts. I served the chicken satay with steamed jasmine rice, sliced cucumbers and chopped tomatoes.

Che Bap Recipe (Vietnamese Sweet Corn Pudding)

Chè is difficult to describe. It's a sweet, soupy pudding served in a small bowl. As I've mentioned before, Vietnamese desserts are mildly sweet and don't always have the most appealing presentation. Chè definitely fits this description. As a child, Maman used to make it very often, especially for the Buddhist prayer rituals (cúng). This version of chè is made with corn and coconut milk; it's called chè bắp in Vietnamese. It can be eaten warm or cold. This dessert can be made all year round; during the summer, I use fresh corn off the cob. When the weather gets cold, as it has over the past few days, canned corn kernels work just fine.

Chè bắp is generally topped witt a thick, syrupy coconut sauce and slightly toasted white sesame seeds. This is probably one of my favorite Asian sweets.

Rau Cau Dua: Vietnamese Coconut Jello Recipe

Rau câu is Vietnamese jello made with agar agar, which is a seaweed by-product, similar to gelatin (except it's vegetal). Several months ago, family friends came for dinner and brought delicious rau câu made with nước dừa ("coconut juice" in Vietnamese). We usually serve the more traditional Vietnamese dessert made with sweetened condensed milk and flavor it with layers of chocolate, mocha, pandan and sometimes durian, but I really like the flavor of this variation. I was also pleasantly surprised at how easy this version was to make. All you need is a few cans of coconut juice with pulp and agar agar. How simple is that?

The coconut jello has another great advantage. It has the same texture as pana cotta, so you can serve it to children without being scared of any spilling or any accidents on your floor. I've adopted this cube version whenever I make it for kids. You can use the same recipe using your children's favorite drinks. It's mess-free and melts in your mouth. They’ll love it!